The Biggest Ever Real World Test Of Connected-Vehicle Communication Technology

About 3,000 vehicles, equipped with wireless technology that allows them to communicate, have hit the roads in the Ann Arbor region of Michigan. This district was chosen specially due to its mix of traffic, variety of roadways, seasonal weather and proximity to vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. The model deployment, conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) as part of a US$22 million partnership with the U.S. Department of Transport (DoT), aims to determine how vehicle wireless communication technology works in real conditions and the effectiveness of vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) systems in enhancing road safety. Of the 3,000 vehicles taking part in the 12 month model deployment, which includes cars, commercial trucks and transit vehicles, 64 will have embedded devices, around 300 will have aftermarket safety devices, and the rest will have simple transmission- only vehicle awareness devices. In order to test the effectiveness of V2V and V2I systems, the model deployment vehicles will wirelessly send and get electronic data from each other and infrastructure. In case of dangerous traffic situations, such as a coming collision at a blind intersection, a vehicle changing lanes in another vehicle’s blind spot, or a potential rear end collision with a stopped vehicle, the data will be rendered into a warning for the driver of the relevant vehicle or vehicles.Via:gizmag.com